How to Move Contacts from Xiaomi to Samsung: All Working Methods for 2026

Why is it difficult to move contacts between Xiaomi and Samsung?

The switch from Xiaomi (or Redmi/POCO sub-brands) to Samsung Galaxy is often accompanied by a contact synchronization problem, which is due to fundamental firmware differences: MIUI (from Xiaomi) and One UI (from Samsung) use different approaches to data storage, such as Xiaomi defaults to retain contacts in the Mi Account, while Samsung is focused on a Google or Samsung Account.

An additional challenge is that the Bluetooth protocol is not fully compatible with Xiaomi and Samsung, and when you try to send, you may experience an error called “Unsupported format” because MIUI exports contacts in.vcf 3.0 format by default, whereas older Samsung models expect.vcf 2.1.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to transfer contacts, taking into account:

• 📱 Compatibility with the latest versions MIUI (14+) one UI (6+)
• 🔄 Opportunity to choose the export format (VCard) 2.1/3.0/4.0)
• 🔒 Keeping your call history and linked accounts (Telegram, WhatsApp)
• 🚫 Bypassing the limit on the number of contacts transmitted (for example, limit 250 contacts over Bluetooth)

Method 1: Sync through a Google account (recommended)

This is the most reliable method, because it doesn't depend on the phone model or the firmware version, and the main condition is that you have a stable Internet connection on both devices.

1. On Xiaomi, open Settings → Google Accounts → Sync and turn on the Contacts switch.
2. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 10 minutes with a large number of contacts).
3. On Samsung, add the same Google account to Settings → Accounts and Archiving → Account Management.
4. Turn on contact synchronization and wait for the entries in the phone book to appear.

⚠️ Note: If your Xiaomi contacts were saved to your Mi Account, you must first transfer them to Google:

1. Open the Contacts app on Xiaomi.
2. Press. ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Export to file.
3. Select Mi Account as Source and Google as Target.

Check Wi-Fi connection on both phones

Make sure you have enough space on your Google account (1 contact ≈ 3 KB)

Disable battery optimization for the Contact app on Xiaomi

Manually sync contacts before switching to Samsung-->

Method 2: Transmission through SIM-Card (for a small number of contacts)

This method is suitable if you have fewer than 250 contacts (limitation). SIM-maps) and no Internet access:

1. On Xiaomi, open contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM.
2. Select contacts for export (you can note everything) and confirm the action.
3. Extract. SIM-Map from Xiaomi and paste it into Samsung.
4. On Samsung, go to Contacts → ⋮ → Settings → Imports/Exports → Import with SIM.

⚠️ Attention: SIM-The card only stores the name and number - all additional information (email, addresses, birthdays) will be lost:

• 📌 Multiple number contacts will become separate records.
• 📌 Cyrillic names can be displayed by Krakozabras (coding problem).
• 📌 Some operators (e.g, Tele2) block the recording of contacts SIM.

Method 3: Bluetooth Transmission (bypassing restrictions)

Xiaomi and Samsung Bluetooth devices often clash when transferring contacts due to differences in OBEX protocols.

1. On Xiaomi, open Contacts → select the contacts you want (or click Allow).
2. Click Share → Bluetooth and select a Samsung device.
3. On Samsung, confirm the file acceptance (usually the contacts.vcf file).
4. After transfer, open the file through the Contacts app and import the data.

If Bluetooth refuses to transmit contacts:

• 🔹 Check that Samsung has enabled Visibility for All (Settings) → Connections → Bluetooth → ⋮ → Visibility).
• 🔹 On Xiaomi, turn off Optimized Exchange in Bluetooth Settings.
• 🔹 If only a portion of the contacts (limit 250) is transferred, break the export into multiple files.

Synchronization through Google

Bluetooth transmission

Exports to SIM-map

Third-party applications (e.g. SHAREit)

Another way.-->

Method 4: Using a VCF file (for mass transfer)

The.vcf (vCard) format is a universal standard for storing contacts, allowing you to transfer all information (numbers, email, addresses, photos) without loss.

1. On Xiaomi, export contacts: Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Select vCard 3.0 format (optimum for Samsung) and save the file to internal memory or to the file. SD-map.
2. Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB-cable (in File Transfer mode) and copy the contact.vcf file.
3. Transfer the file to Samsung (via cable, cloud, or messenger).
4. On Samsung, open the file through the Contacts app and confirm the import.

⚠️ Note: If a file weighs more than 10MB (over 3,000 contacts), break it down:

1. Open contacts.vcf in a text editor (e.g. VS Code).
2. Find the lines BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD – each block between them is one contact.
3. Copy it by 500-1000 blocks into separate files and save them as contacts_part1.vcf, contacts_part2.vcf etc.

💡

If Samsung doesn’t see a.vcf file, rename it to contacts.vcf (without spaces and Cyrillic) and place it in the Download folder on the internal drive.

Method 5: Third-party applications (for complex cases)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, when contacts are damaged or firmware incompatibility), use specialized applications. → Samsung:

For use by SHAREit:

1. Install the app on both phones.
2. On Xiaomi, select Send → Contacts and mark the required entries.
3. On Samsung, click Accept and wait for the transfer to be completed.

💡

Apps like SHAREit bypass Bluetooth restrictions but require permission to access contacts, SMS and location. Check security reviews (like 4PDA) before installing.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

Even if you follow the instructions, you can have problems, and let's look at the typical scenarios and how to fix them:

1. Contacts are duplicated after transfer

The reason: Samsung already had contacts with the same Google account.

Decision:

• 🔸 Open Contacts on Samsung → ⋮ → Contact management → Connecting contacts.
• 🔸 Use the Duplicate Contacts Remover app to clean up automatically.

2. Contact photos are not moved

The reason: VCard 2.1 does not support images, and in VCard 3.0 they can be compressed.

Decision:

• 🔸 Export contacts to VCard 4.0 (available in Super Backup & Restore).
• 🔸 Move photos separately via Google Photos or Samsung Cloud.

3. Samsung doesn't see the.vcf file

Reason: Incorrect file extension or encoding.

Decision:

• 🔸 Rename the file to contacts.vcf (without spaces).
• 🔸 Open the file through Samsung Files (My Files) and select Open with → Contacts.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions